Dust
by BottledUpWishes
Summary: It is no mistake that the Heavens envision Seiten Taisei in celestial clothing and fierce expression, and no one's been able to learn who coined his title as the Great Sage Equalling Heaven for a good reason.
1. Sliver

__The divine roots crack way for me__

 _ _As gold light pours out my eyes,__

 _ _Wisteria blooms around the mountain brook__

 _ _Where the rivers meet at Heaven's pillar__

Those beyond mortal knowledge reside in the heavenly world. To their mortal neighbours, they are venerable beings encompassing mercy, strength, wisdom, charity, and the ultimate power of the mind. Theirs is an authority unchallenged. Unrivaled by the Lower World.

But an earth-born creature clawed his way in through brute strength. A powerful creature that lived his life carefree and leisurely. He crushed stone with his fists and ground adamant into fine powders with his teeth.

Yet, for all his power, he did not spend his time terrorising the tigers and fiends weaker than him. He elicited no joy in them, preferring to leave them be and go about his business. But when approached by something wishing to challenge, he made quick work of them, delighted to put them in their place and severely humble them in his presence. A 'king' challenged by the mere livestock of lowly peasants

He harboured no dislike for many humans near his living space. They shared the fruit and flowers surrounding them in peace, and exchanged music and stories under bright silvery moons. Humans, and some demons, revered him as a spirit of the Earth, and in return of their hospitality, he provided his own means of protection. Even the most orthodox of Buddhist monks, fearful of his unnatural sun-coloured eyes, displayed some form of deference towards him.

 _ _A god.__

He was like a god.

But of course, for this god-like creature, anything he wielded broke in one swing, leaving him surrounded by a scatter of broken weapons. His brute strength went unmatched by any other being, but the impact of a weapon added to the thrill, and he found himself at a loss of what to do. Then, one day, whilst watching others rake away at their fields, his endless loop of frustration came to an end. Of course mundane weapons could not hold a candle to him, they were just that – mundane. Creations of humanity, all powerless against the Earth they flourished on.

He needed an incredible sort of weapon. Something unlike humanity's. Through the local monks' grapevine, the clever creature heard of such creations residing at the bottom of the Eastern sea, in the Eastern Dragon King's grand palace full of notable treasures and relics. Surely among grand collections of divine artefacts, a dragon would have weapons, no? With swift word to those he cohabited with, the creature went on his way, promising to return with a display of strength so grand they'd celebrate his return with food tenfold.

The Eastern Dragon King's palace resided deep beneath crystal clear waters far from civilisation. Water supposedly permanently purified by sun pillars pouring down from Heaven itself. It was territory never meant for mundane beings, but the creature effortlessly dissolved the border between him and that celestial dimension, disrupting the plane's still waters. The next time the creature opened his eyes, he floated across its waters, hair weaving in them like seaweed, and seeing ocean as far as his keen eyes could see, with the ocean floor entirely visible. He grimaced, looking around. Land didn't exist here, and he was no amphibious wonder. The Earth birthed him, and to be cut away from it left a salty taste in his mouth, but he knew he wouldn't ever leave without getting what he wanted.

The waters rumbled, and a serpentine creature arched its way to the surface. Meeting the Earth-child's eyes, the serpentine creature bared its fangs, regarding him no more than an intruder. It struck down, intent on swallowing him, but he fended off its attack with his bare hands, forcing its jaw open more than natural with no notice to its writhing or the mandible's snapping.

Just then, bright light erupted from below him, and a blunt force propelled him into the air, seeming to never end in length and height. He twisted around, gripping a red stave that wouldn't stop growing, dragging his palm along like rope burn. Abruptly, it stopped, and sharply shrunk down into the water's depths, straight into the Dragon King's palace.


	2. Shred

__Thus came a drop gently to me__

 _ _From the ragged claw of a wave__

 _ _The ocean rolls over the land__

 _ _And I am washed away__

The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, Goko, was a sight to behold. A god with the blood of a dragon, he stood at six metres with ash-green scaled skin, pale crimson hair, and watchful, glaciial eyes, wearing robes of ivory and gold. He armed himself with an army sword strapped to his waist, where his clawed fingers curved around its hilt. He eyes never left the intruding golden-eyed creature's, and the two watched each other in silence, neither threatened by the other.

"Who are you?"

The creature shook water off himself, raking a hand through his soaked brown hair. "I'm here for a weapon."

Goko narrowed his eyes, stiffening his posture upon hearing the clack of his wife's sandals, and she soon stood next to him.

She raised an eyebrow. "A weapon?"

"Any other weapon in my possession will break." Approaching the king, the creature spoke calmly. His claws curled around his fingers, and upon picking up an alternate stave, demonstrated his monstrous strength by shattering it into dozens of pieces with little effort. He kicked remnants of it toward Goko, his eyes on his wife. Nothing of ill-intent. More like a child scoping out the more lenient of two parents. Goko stepped forward, blocking his view.

"If you cannot control your own strength, it is best to keep it to yourself."

The creature made a face. "That's not what I asked."

His wife once more stepped to his side. "Goko... his eyes..."

He didn't see the relevance. Appearances didn't register as something to focus on when dealing with an intruder, but he felt his stare on him, forcing him to look.

Gold eyes.

Goko reached for his sword, drawing it barely in time to notice that the Heretic disappeared. He saw a figure in his peripheral vision, managing to deflect the creature's sudden attack. His kick vibrated up the sword, through its hilt, and carved into bone, shattering Goko's shoulder, and leaving torn sinew in its wake. He gritted his teeth, he felt the arm go limb and useless, right at the same time the creature disappeared once more. Goko threw the sword into his other hand, spun on his heel, and braced for an attack from behind.

One hand weighed Goko's blade down, the other covered his face, claws puncturing and dragging down his scaled skin, and one claw slipped down into his right eye. His blade split in two, and the sudden snap betrayed Goko's balance, allowing the golden-eyed creature to slam him onto his back, still keeping his hand on Goko's face. His hand never moved, and at the slightest movement Goko made, that claw dug deeper in what was left of his eye.

In his own way, the Heretic hailed the air in the palace. His power and presence locked into the air he breathed, overpowering anything and anyone within his vicinity. All the while he wore a calm expression, indicating nothing **but** control over the situation. His situation. Without so much as a direct look in Goko's eyes, the creature put his weight on his hand, propelling off Goko's face and now standing on the other side of the room. He cracked his neck, flicking blood off his claws.

Staring at the ceiling, Goko felt blood ooze down his cheek. Maybe it was the sheer shock of the power difference, but he could swear he felt the remnants of his eye still mushed in its socket. Without thinking, he put a still hand over the injury, half-expecting his vision to return to normal, but when he pulled his hand away, warm blood covered it.

Goko, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea and the Heavenly Eastern Army's sole authority, was not a man used to wounds. Mixed with the throbbing sting left in his socket, he felt his chest throat tighten. That... beast stood perfectly poised, with the Dragon King's blood drying on his claws, and an unreadable expression.

Fear? Humiliation? What the hell did Goko feel? His heart raced in his throat. Every single cell in his body tense. If he moved, he knew that beast would pounce without a sound, and that'd be the end of it. Brimstone burned behind his breastbone, and Goko became acutely aware of those golden eyes watching him.

Swallowing, Goko forced himself up, resisting the urge to reach for his revolver. Still, he could tell the beast focused on Goko's holster, just waiting for him to reach for it.

"Satisfied with your little display?"

"You were going to attack."

Goko didn't argue. In the sense of a fight, the beast had full right to act first, but in the sense of wanting something from the dragon, the beast couldn't still expect to get a weapon of sorts, could he?

The beast's eyes trailed to the snapped sword. "So something like that... wouldn't work either."

At Goko's side, his wife gripped the edges of her sleeves with shaky hands. "Then the staff will work." With a tight voice, she gestured to the staff, held up like a thick, decorative pillar that reached the palace's ceiling.

The beast flexed his claws, joints cracking. Slowly, he nodded. "It didn't break when I grabbed it, so it could work."

Goko whipped his head to her, his arm stinging at the slight shift of his weight. His wife never met his sharp stare, instead still speaking to the beast.

The beast lifted the pillar up, holding it without any trouble. He inspected it like a cat, humming to himself. Goko thought he'd start to sniff it, but he turned his attention back to Goko's wife, curiosity akin to a child's on his face. "So how's it work?"

"How's it work?"

Goku reached up, his good arm on his wife's shoulder to help him sit up. Goko ignored the blood falling into his mouth, tasting a rivulet of it run past his lip. "Say what you wish of it, and it'll oblige."

The beast's eyes widened. "Really?" Tossing it from one hand to the other, he ordered the staff to shrink, and it shrunk to a normal staff's height and width. Delighted, he looked to Goko, his face etched with smug glee. "Why so compliant?"

Goko closed his eye, grimacing at the deep sting in his other socket. He was no fool. This beast demonstrated no difficulty subduing him. And worse of all, he did so without any malicious intent. Merely protecting himself. Acting exactly like a feral animal. "Consider it charity for something as simple-minded as you. Developing a technique might benefit your thinking skills."

The beast hit the staff on the ground, telling it to grow and shrink, and used it to jump over the two dragons and in front of the exit. No word of gratitude, not that Goko expected one. Not even so much as a look back in his direction.

The dragon king watched him leave, scoffing, and stumbled to his feet. An assault like this would never go overlooked by heaven. Hence, Goko wouldn't report the incident's full details to Heaven. He absolutely wouldn't risk the lives of his own soldiers.

A god-like beast making his home in the Lower World with one of the Dragon King's prized weapons.

Finally wiping blood off his face, Goko shook his head. "What a joke."


	3. Piece

__Chew on the bones__

 _ _And marinate the meat__

 _ _There is no meaning__

 _ _In hesitating in the wake of triumph__

 _ _So eat.__

After his 'adventure' against the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, the beast killed time before returning to his home. The crystal clear ocean left much to desire, and a plain red pagoda above its surface did little to interest him, void of anyone or anything. The dragon king lived a boring life, and the beast must've been a milestone in his life, honestly.

Delighted by his newfound weapon, the beast shrunk it small enough to tuck behind his ear, but not before testing how high and far it could go. When finally satisfied with his playing around, the beast made his way back to the humans' village, resting underneath his favourite tree deep in the village's outskirts.

He liked warm days like this one. Fruit-filled trees shaded him from the sun, with just enough sunlight filtering through leaves to warm his body. Grass and flowers padded him. He heard wind, birds chirping, and the nearby river as white noise. He slept soundly, carefree. He never had dreams. The only things other than himself that managed to wake him were sudden shifts in the weather or the rare human passing through his territory.

When it came to humans, he didn't care all that much. Very rarely did they ever pester him. The two walks of life lived in some sort of amicable harmony, respecting one another's boundaries. Humans varied from fear to reverence towards him, and he felt no hostility towads them, but was equally disinterested in the deeper aspects of their lives. He'd eavesdrop and watch them from time to time, definitely, but only because he'd get so bored or restless. Other things that never failed to catch his attention were the scents of various foods they made. Able to go long periods without food, ot to mention easily satiated by the juicy flesh of a peach, eating didn't __feel__ like a necessity to the beast, he certainly didn't dislike to eat. Tasting and feeling various flavours fall into his body became somewhat a hobby of his.

So on those rare occasions humans moved in his territory, it'd comonly be to leave food out for him, he even came to recognise the scents of people who did it most often. In that regard, it'd mostly been the elderly or their grandchildren, neither of which left the beast bothered or displeased, the worst things about them ended up being the heavy smell of medicine on the elderly or overpowering scent of milk on young children. They left him alone, he left them alone. Simple. Of course, things were friendly, but only to a certain degree, and that let the beast go as far as to defend those people when other humans or demons bothered them.

That all said and done, he doesn't expect a pair of tiny hands shaking him in his sleep. His eyes snapped open, claws extended, the only thing keeping the child alive were the beast's reflexes, keeping him from slicing into her upon instantly seeing her tiny frame. Of course, his quick movement nonetheless frightened the child, who became a sobbing, snot-ridden mess.

The beast leapt to a branch, scrunching his nose at the loud noise. He forgot, kids' crying was bothersome – __annoying__ , too. Never failed to assail his ears. Looking around, he didn't see any sign of a mother or father coming to the aid of their child, meaning no one to make the child's crying stop.

He glanced at a peach just above the child. Pulling the minimised staff from behind his ear and making it grow, he extended it, using it to dislodge the peach, which fell in front of the child with a small thud in the grass. It was enough to gain their attention, an t they kneeled down, wiping away all their tears from their red, puffy eyes and sniffing their nose. Hesitantly, the child picked the peach up, then looked up at the beast, their eyes wide.

"Is this for me?"

The beast nodded, still perched on the tree branch. Children were weird. Always changing their emotions as quickly as the wind blew.

To his relief, the child happily bit into the peach. But not ten bites in, they raised the peach up in the beast's direction. Although surprised, the beast jumped down, taking the peach and biting into it from the other unbitten side. In contrast to the child's smooth bites, his were sharper, deeper, and just a bit more jagged. He bit more and more into it, close to its core, noticing the child stare at him the whole time.

Once finished, he tossed the core into the ground. "Why are you here?" He lived far in the outskirts of the village, with the only sign of human use being an __abandoned__ well. Nothing for a child to be running around in without some sort of caretaker in sight.

Yet again, the child's face went from happy to sad, but not the awful snotty mess they were the first time. This time, they had a more distant look in their face. Maybe the better word was __disheartened,__ rather than sad.

"Lotsa people disappeared. I thought they might've gone here."

"Disappeared? Like that 'hide and seek' game you people play?"

The child shook their head. "Nuh-uh. No one can find them."

According to the child, a little after the beast left on his adventures, villagers began to disappear. And while the child didn't understand what the adults around her said, they mentioned a 'demon king' and his followers claiming a strange castle not far from the village, but one originally never there, always surrounded by fog. At certain points of the day, that fog would spread into the village without fail, and dissipate with villagers missing.

Although listening to her, the beast couldn't help but focus on a basket she discarded when he scared her. He smelled food from it. Warm bread. He pointed at it, silencing the girl. "You brought that for me, right?"

The girl nodded. "People said it'd be like an 'offering' to you. To convince you to-"

"Okay."

"Huh?"

"You want me to take care of that demon in the temple, and get the villagers out. That's easy for someone like me."

The girl burst into a smile, wrapping her short little arms around the beast's leg and thanking him a hundred times over. For a bit, he tolerated her, but once in the village itself, the girl still holding onto his leg, he picked her up by the back of her dress collar, holding her above the ground like a kitten before setting her down. With a wave of his hand, he told her to go home, or something, that wasn't near the fog-filled temple.

Monks surrounded the front of the temple, praying and chanting. It gave the beast a headache, but was nothing he couldn't just brush off. Fog spilled out the temple's windows and doors, weaving around like phantoms, and the beast heard heavy, inevitably drunken laughter inside.

Instead of dealing with the monks, who'd get pissy the minute they saw the beast, he jumped onto its roof, completely undetected in the fog. He could hear the intoxicated, deep voices of demons inside, one rumbling louder than the rest.

With a casual stomp, the beast broke the roof tiles enough to jump inside. Wooden planks fell on a notably larger demon wearing a golden helmet with his body completely covered by a pitch black robe. The beast heard the planks clamour onto his body, signalling that the demon wore armour under the huge robe.

With a slam of a large sword the demon had, he stared at the beast with fiery eyes. He held a larger than life mug full of sake in the other, and his flushed face failed to match his otherwise imposing appearance.

"Who are you, barging into my temple and disrupting my party?"

The beast summoned his staff, growing it long enough to lean on, and he smiled at the demon, amused by his hefty speech. This demon was one of those types that believed they wouldn't ever die sooner than they wanted to. The sort the beast took a keen liking in knocking down a peg or two. "I could ask the same thing. It's because of you I got woken up early."

Fog spilled from the demon's mouth. "And you think a puny staff like that will do something against me, the Demon King?"

"Assuming your breath doesn't do me in first."

That did it. The demon king thrust his heavy sword in the beast's direction, but the beast jumped onto it, perched atop it like a bird on a tree. No matter how violently the demon king tried to shake him off, the beast stayed put. Instead, the beast dug his claws into the blade, propelling himself forward. The demon king readied himself for a head-on attack, but the beast stopped short of the huge hilt.

For a moment, he stared into the demon king's eyes without a single word, his breathing controlled and body poised. Not until the demon king's shoulder flinched did he make another move. His staff increased in length, slamming into the demon king's armour. It broke through like a hot knife to butter, piercing and breaking the demon's ribs.

The demon king waved his sword in a frenzy of pain, howling in pain. The beast hopped off his perch on the hilt and disappeared. The demon king, infuriated, ordered for his followers to kill him, but none could find the beast, nor decipher where he hid himself.

"No excuses! Find him and kill him! And slaughter every human in this damned village for good measure!"

Flailing his hands, his drunken stupour failed to inform him that his sword had disappeared. Not until a follower pointed it out, and the demon king's mug shattered out of his hand. The demon king dropping his sake was unheard of, and followers crowding the temple hurried to his side to ascertain his trouble.

No matter how many timse they asked, the demon king did not respond. He stared onward, absolutely still, eyes staring at nothing but empty space.

The demon king's head slowly split in two, and the weight of his head and crown tore flesh and sinew off the sides, leaving both halves of his head to fall off his body, toppling to the ground. Blood covered the entire floor, thick and oozing. His body remained upright, but soon wobbled and fell to the other side. The sheer weight of his body, combined with the shock of his followers, crushed two of them under his body, spreading more blood throughout the temple. The remaining followers stared in chock at their decapitated leader, until one finally pointed at the statue directly behind the former king.

Atop the lotus statue, the beast held his staff close to his chest, smiling, tongue sticking out, his eyes aglow in the darkness. Small streaks of blood dotting his face. From his other hand, the demon king's sword clattered down, covered in its late owner's own blood.

In his anger, a follower prepped his bow and arrow, ready to shoot the beast, but the latter's staff abruptly extended, goring the demon right in the forehead. His arrow flipped from his grasp, the bow soon following, both rendered useless by a dead user. And now, the beast left all these lesser demons to their own discretion and fate. Any lingering fog faded away, any movements were entirely visible. Mice facing an owl.

The moment demons started to run in a panic, his eyes widened, pupils enlarging, body ready to pounce. He 'disappeared' from their sight in a flash, and the first to go down gets their head crushed between the beast's hand and the wall. Another had their chest lacerated. Others simply blunted by the staff. Plenty of yelling and shouting, panicked and angry. One of the last few of them tried to sneak up from behind, armed with a small firearm. Admittedly, he caught the beast by surprise, and he shot the gun, a single bullet aiming for the beast.

A look of accomplishment soon contorted into horror, and the gun trembled out of his hand. Horror soon turned to defiance, even as the beast lunged for him, impaling his chest with his staff. The demon thrashed his body and legs around, his heels slipping on blood, whilst his hands tugged at the staff in a futile effort to pull it out of his chest. Combined with blood covering his hands and a weakening body, the demon soon gave up, hands sliding off the staff.

Then the strangest thing happened.

The demon made a pained smile, turning away from the beast and to his fallen comrades. Blood dripped out the corner of his mouth.

"You... what are you?"

The beast tilted his head, but did not answer. Someone near death talking to him never happened. He wanted to hear what the demon had to say before he died because of how unexpected it was that he had the energy to still speak. The demon coughed out blood, the staff jerking inside his chest, and he cringed.

"You're no demon..." His voice became more and more strained, clogged by blood. "So what the hell are you. Who are you?"

"Why?"

"It's normal to wanna know the name of who kills you... Besides... When I go to hell, my one good deed is gonna be to warn all those sorry bastards about you. So spill it, what's your name? You ain't got nothing to lose telling a dead man."

The beast stared at him, dumbfounded. What he was. Who he was. He had answers for neither.

The demon did something even more shocking as he laid there dying.

 _ _He laughed.__

"I don't kno what's more pathetic. Dying by some unnamed monster, or living a life without even a name to go by."

The demon mocked him, the beast knew that. Without a proper response, he forced the staff to cut into his abdomen. The demon sputtered and convulsed, still somehow smiling. "I'd... say you're some child lashing out but, even kids got names... so you, without a name... heh... Anyone – _ _anything__ \- worth the space it occupies has a name, you know."

never in his life considered himself a demon, let alone a human. He knew he was stronger than them. Far stronger. He was born of the Earth, both his 'mother' and home, that nutured and fed him. The Earth gave him food, shelter, warmth, clean air, and fun.

But not a name.

Scowling, he shook his head, kicking the demon's corpse out of his way.

Demons, slayed and scattered throughout the temple. The beast covered in demons' blood lost his smirk. He stomped out, shrinking the staff and putting it back behind his ear. When blood dripped to his tongue, he stiffened, doing his best to spit out the metalic taste.. For good measuer, he wiped the blood on his claws over the cloth over the doorway, leaving the temple, deteriorating outside and covered in blood inside.

The second he walked outside, monks looked agahst at him. Their fear no different from the slaughtered demons. The oldest looking one, beads gripped by his bony, shaky hands, stepped forth.

"You stepped into our temple?"

The beast nodded.

"How... how dare you desecrate what remained of our temple by stepping foot into it?"

The beast shrugged. He didn't think it possible to 'desecrate' something overrun by a demon king. They might as well dub it a graveyard for the demon king and his followers instead of a temple.

Another monk shook his head, pointing at the beast. "Demons are one thing. We can purify and exorcise what's been done in there over a period of time. But you... a Heretic such as yourself leaves that temple doomed!"

Taking a step forward, the beast made sure to listen closely. "What did you call me?"

Several monks backed away with wide eys and hushed voices, but thei oldest one remained in place.

"Golden eyes like yours marks the birth of an unnatural being foreign to even Heaven itself." His voice sounded like tree branches scratching each other in the wind. "To have a temple invaded by your presence leaves us – and this village, with virtually nothing."

The monk's anger rolled off the beast like water on a duck. A ' _ _Heretic__ '. What he was was something called a ' _ _Heretic__ '. And to be 'unnatural to Heaven itself'. Surely that referred to his birth as the Earth's child, rather than a celestial being.

"A 'Heretic'..." He walked past the monks, paying no mind to their rush to clear a path for him. In the village's centre, several villagers suddenly appeared from the disappearing fog, surrounded by others welcoming them back from their mysterious disappearance. When the excitement died down, their attention turned to the Heretic. One by one, they knelt to the ground, hands and feet digging into the dirt.

Behind the Heretic, a monk admonished, "You dare kowtow a Heretic like him?!"

A woman rose her head. The Heretic noted her resemblance to the child he met earlier.

"Ever since we've cohabited with him, he's done more than you were ever capable of." A huddle of other villagers agreed with her.

"What's your chanting good for?"

"You can't even be bothered to do the simplest tasks without receiving patronage!"

"He's more a sage than __you__ claim to be."

"Praying to gods doesn't help!"

"Who needs 'em. His power rivals them!"

" _ _Equals__ , more like it!"

The Heretic listened to their anger, less out of satisfaction in their support of him, and more out of one simple curiosity.

"None of you... are aware of if I have a name?"

His question silenced them, and the same woman from before shook her head. "We weren't aware if you had one." She was earnest, careful in her words. "We assumed you kept it to yourself."

Villagers whispered to one another beneath her confession, exchanging awkward glances their anger towards the monks forgotten. The woman kowtowed deeper than before, her forehead touching the dirt.

"If you have one, we'll listen to it. We want to know the name of the person that's lived beside us so long."

The Heretic stared at her for what seemed like ages.

"I don't have one." Before more awkward words could be exchanged, he spoke up. "But now, I do."

"Then, what is it? We'll engrave it in our minds."

The Heretic turned to the monks, his smile back in its rightful place. "A being more a sage than these useless monks. And someone unnatural to Heaven, but with all their power, right? " He jumped behind the head monk, poking his head with the tip of his claw. "A great sage equal to Heaven. _ _The__ Great Sage Equalling Heaven."


	4. Half

__With my own eyes I have witnessed 'fear',__

 _ _And with my own nose I have smelled death__

 _ _My tongue will know the bitter taste of defeat__

 _ _Just as my ears will know the sound of crying__

 _ _But please, do not let my hands know of bloodshed.__

A few days in Heaven can equal several months in the Lower World.

While that beast reaped the benefits of the villagers that trusted him so, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea still recovered from the loss of his left eye. He wasn't in any notable pain, persay, but adjusting his sight and alertness proved somewhat a challenge.

His men were furious when they learnt the reason, and only through Goko's strict orders did they resist the temptation to confront that beast.

He, begrudgingly, also had to acknowledge the assistance from __her__.

"My, my, how long has it been down there?"

A tall, beautiful woman with striking violet eyes waved a kuseri in the air, never even smoking from it. Goko new she only owned it as some attempt to seem classy. She sat in an ornate chair, hosting the dragon king in her private pagoda. Which she just so happened to insist have located in the Heavenly Eastern Sea, secluded from the rest of Heaven.

Admittedly, she would be a dazzling woman were it not for her smile. Her smile never met her cold, distant eyes, tinged with only a small bit of amusement in everything she saw.

"You don't even eavesdrop, and looking in on him every so often won't make you feel any better." Pushing a strand of umber hair behind her ear, she leaned into the sea's view, crystal clear, like a mirror to the Lower World.

The Goddess of Wisdom, Seishi Bosatsu. Technically Goko's superior, but Goko could never view her that way. Her personality was just...

"Don't you have a __child__ to raise, Goddess?"

She shrugged. "That's what having a nanny and younger sister is for."

"From what I hear, you haven't even __named__ your own son."

Seishi sighed, slouching in her seat. "He can't even speak yet. I'm not naming him when he's got nothing to offer. He has no concept of what a name means anyway. He'll live." She pointed a long nail at the water, and the Heretic appeared once more. "Now, this beast, no, this sage, on the other hand, has my attention. And yours as well, it would see."

"He's dangerous."

"Hmm... aren't they all..." She laughed. "Whenever it comes to something Heaven can't immediately conquer, we're all shaking in our boots. Heretics are our worst nightmare because we've got no control over them. They're well beyond our reach, this one included."

The sea's dead silence left no room for even the stir of wind nor waves. Goko digested the Goddess' remark, and the Goddess continued to amuse herself. With a wave of her hand, the sea's image changed.

"Ah, there goes another one."

The water revealed a malformed, slobbering mess of a demon rampaging in a marshy field, villagers scrambling around for their lives. The Goddess of Wisdom watched the scene without ever changing her expression. "Sure are a lot of those creatures as of late. They're different from normal demons."

"My men have noticed."

"I'm sure. And they sure have increased since the need for a war god came up."

Her inflection spread a chill up Goko's spine. Responding to her seemed wrong, in a way. He stood up instead, grasping the hilt of his newly repaired sword.

"You're going alone?"

"Naturally."

Goko loaded his gun, on his way to the Dimensional Gate. Just one demon didn't require sending out a unit, and Goko could handle it no problem. His newly repaired sword stayed his primary weapon, but the tranquilisers in his prized revolver made or broke any encounter he had in the Lower World. Besides, he didn't need both eyes to be a crack shot. Sealing wasn't much harder.

"How noble." Chuckling, Seishi waved her kuseri like a hankerchief. "Have fun~."

In the Lower World, the demon writhed about a marsh, raising its blood-covered mouth from the body of a villager. It bared its fangs, lunging for Goko without a second thought. Impulsive demons like this one were the easiest to deal with . Predictable, constantly opening themselves up for attacks that really mattered. Goko sidestepped the demon's attack, using his sword to deflect its fangs when it stretched its head toward him. The demon clamped down on the blade, but for something as run-of-the-mill as this creature, breaking it would be impossible. Aiming the revolver down its throat, Goko shot a tranquiliser bullet right in.

Its body limp, the demon crashed into the marsh, breaking the wet dirt up and sinking into mud. Its twitched and gargled, fighting off sedative effects and inching his body to Goko's feet.

Intent on taking it down quickly, Goko aimed his revolver, but sharp wind whirred past him, and deep claw marks marred the demon's flesh. Blood spewed and pooled out, dyeing the green-brown marsh below. A senselessly brutal, painful death.

The Heretic and Dragon King met eye-to-eye. Their bodies loose, fluid, poised and practically __built__ for combat. The demon writhed under the Heretic's foot, its life finally coming to an end after the Heretic stomped his foot right into its head.

Grimacing, Goko resisted the instinct to look down and see the blood splattered all over the dirt and Heretic's foot. The blood covering his entire left side was enough to take in. Without the smile Goko vividly recalled, the Heretic licked blood off the corner of his mouth.

Goko locked eyes with this being, and he'd keep it that way. For an animal like this one, looking away meant submission. The throbbing in his left eye socket fresh, he took a deep breath.

"You're as mindless and arrogant as ever."

"Are you looking to losing your other eye too?" Like a child, the Heretic lifted up his beloved staff, waving it like a firearm. "I can do it without even moving."

Stepping back, Goko shook his head. "Not everything in this world feels the need to fight you. I came to seal that demon, nothing else."

The beast rested an elbow on the now shortened staff. He jabbed his thumb behind him, towards bodies mangled and motionless over the marsh. "Some help you were." Focused on the bodies, the beast's frown deepened. "Since I don't have Heaven's surveillance system, __I__ have an excuse for not being here instantly. What's a big bad dragon king got to say for waiting till the last minute?"

Goko narrowed his eyes. "Just as you said, it's not possible to hear about these things in an instant."

With a scoff, the beast moved towards the mangled bodies of villagers. "Convenient answer." He crouched over the bodies, tugging at their clothes and few accessories. He kept these in his possession, leaving the corpses behind.

"You won't bury them?"

"They're already in the dirt. There's not much difference other than that worms and bugs will have to share the body with whatever bird decides it was a meal."

"You'd allow creatures to desecrate and devour the bodies of people you so proudly defend."

"Nature comes first. That demon came into our territory, so I took care of it. Those bodies are dead, so they're the scavengers now. People can keep these mementos and stuff instead. I drop 'em off and they take care of 'em. If they aren't complaining, you don't have to neither. Besides, no one wants to see their friend or relative's half-eaten body."

Extending his staff, the beast propelled himself to the village, essentially gliding through clouds.

Watching bugs already crawl over what remained of the villagers' bodies. In this heat, they'd stink up the whole area in no time, and decomposition would rot their bodies down to the bone. In Heaven, this'd be unacceptable. Although death was rare in his army, the Eastern Dragon King emphasised respectable burials for those who did meet their end, especially in the case of veterans and newcomers.

Still, that was in Heaven. Goko understood that things worked differently here, and the beast's own ideals sinked deep into this village's own. They coexisted. As much as Goko disagreed with them, he was in no place to criticise how those villagers chose to live.

He heard a whizzing sound, and the he returned.

"...you don't waste time in one place for too long, I see."

The beast smiled, offering no indication that the villagers' deaths affected him. Just that lively spark in his eyes.

Just another reason Goko couldn't take him seriously. He walked past the beast, avoiding his watchful gaze. "I'm not particularly interested in conversing with a beast such as yourself."

The beast dug his staff into the ground. "I'm not a 'beast'." Indignant, he followed Goko, ignoring the latter's hastened footsteps. "I have a name."

Leave him alone. "Fascinating."

The beast cut in front of him, swift and smart enough to appear from Goko's blindspot. The barrel of his revolver would have greeted any other person, but this beast held himself in a way that restricted Goko's reflexes.

"I'm not a beast. Ain't a Heretic either."

The fact he even knew that term meant that he got a little smarter since their last encounter. A miracle, to say the least. Months to the beast equated to, at the most, a week or so for Heaven.

Against better judgement, Goko humoured him. "Then what am I to call you?"

"The Great Sage Equalling Heaven. Seiten Taisei."

An alarm sounded in Goko's head like a blaring horn. He stopped dead in his tracks, facing the beast. "That's what you've decided to call yourself?" His arrogance knew no bounds.

"I got the idea from these villagers," he admitted, "but ultimately, I named myself."

That much Goko could gather. The beast, Seiten Taisei, emanated with , with a wide smile and tall stature, he . on Earth, Goko didn't sense the awful presence he built up in Goko's Palace. An animal comfortable in his natural habitat. It served as a double-edged sword. On one hand, he didn't seem as battle-ready. On the other, he was so relaxed because he knew he constantly held the advantage.

"That power… Where did you learn it?"

Seiten Taisei rose eyebrow. "Power?"

"You healed your injury the Earth. That's the best way I can put it."

"Nifty, huh? I never learned it. I've just known I can do it since the day I was born."

The Earth coddled the beast with every breath he took.

"To me, it's no different from all the kids going to their parents holding up some scrape on their elbow."

He almost seemed __serene__. This __blood-soaked beast__ seemed __serene__. Goko slowed his pace, allowing the sage to walk by his side. He had to acknowledge the fact that there was no reason to antagonise Seiten Taisei. Rather, he had no chance against the sage. Treating him like an enemy meant suicide.

"The way you speak, not only the Earth, you're fond of that village you live near as well."

"I've been around it for a long time. We mostly don't bother with each other, but it gets boring here, so I'll check out the place from time to time. One of the weirdest things is how those people grow. Nothing ever stays the same for them."

"They won't live nearly half as long as you will. They can't afford to live stagnant lives."

Trying to imagine Seiten Taisei as an amicable being would've been impossible if Goko never saw the way he often ignored any nearby human when slaughtering a demon. Ot might be been more appropriate to say he protected that village.

"To those people, you-"

"I'm basically like a god to 'em."

Cicadas' screeching deafened Goko's thoughts. Looking Seiten Taisei in the eye always disconcerted him, but having those golden eyes taken in by his remaining eye flooded his sight.

"So, what's Heaven like?"

"Ill-suited for you, Seiten Taisei."

His face fell. He extended his staff horizontally, barring Goko from moving. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that Heaven would never accept the likes of you. That's just a fact." Goko attempted to walk past him, but the sage kept the staff unmoving, more like a wall than a weapon. He avoided looking the sage in the eye once more, instead staring straight ahead. "If you don't mind, I'm leaving."

"I want to see it."

"See what?"

"What Heaven looks like. I wanna see exactly what I'm equal to."

He had to be joking. Heretical origins aside, Seiten Taisei would never receive a warm welcoming from anyone in Heaven.

Paying him no heed, Goko stayed still, silent and moving, just like a statue. Even when Seiten Taisei tightened his hold on the staff, as if prepping himself to swing, Goko did not stir. Cicadas hissed so loud they might as well be right next to the pair.

Goko took a deep breath. He knew he had to change his approach as abruptly as the weather changed to deal with the sage.

"You were born and nutured by the Earth. Stay here. Heaven won't welcome you."

"They don't need to. I just wanna check it out."

Goko looked back in the village's direction. "What about the villagers here?"

Seiten Taisei did not lose the spark in his eye. Something new and shiny caught his interest and he wouldn't let it go until he could pounce. Yet, for as honest as his curisoity was, Goko saw the devil staring right back at him behind the sage's eyes. A look he couldn't say yes to in good conscious, but couldn't say no to in favour of his well-being.

"Do what you will."


	5. Majority

__Summer haze melts the mind and body__

 _ _Leaving them with boiled hearts__

 _ _Their turgid chatter keeps us grounded__

 _ _So let's cast aside our worries with wine__

 _ _And head for the crisp dawn__

Before the Seiten Taisei stood a grand, gold and jade-covered chamber. Accents of red decorated pillars and curtains, and natural light pooled in from an eternally spring sun. Quiet, still air stagnated the entire room, sapping it of any energy.

Some would call it 'peaceful', but Seiten Taisei found it just the opposite. It didn't help that a bunch of random people stared at him from seats extending from the walls either. Five especially elaborate seats encircled the upper half of the chamber. Below were four other seats, where three men resembling Goko sat.

In the centre sat a youth whose chair was large and wide enough to support a __lion__ that rested complacently at its apparent owner's side. It lifted its head upon seeing the sage, a rumble requesting its owner's attention.

The youth saw Goko and Seiten Taisei, stroking his lion's mane. All his attention landed on Goko, he knelt down, head bowing low.

"Before you is someone who goes by Great Sage Equaling Heaven." His voice was tight, disconnected from the look on his face. "Seiten Taisei."

The scale-covered, red skinned man in the lower section slammed his fist down on the counter, narrowing his eyes. "Hey, Goko, not what the hell kinda joke is this?"

The man with white scales spoke up next. "This is the Heretic that attacked you."

At that, Seiten Taisei couldn't resist smirking a little. Knowing his already built some semblance of a reputation here of all places filled his chest with warm pride. Even the men's scrutiny couldn't bog him down. Instead, it basically fueled him. He stood up straight, head held high against Goko's reverence.

His head still low, Goko spoke to the sage. "You're acting like that in front of Heaven's Five Bodhisattva and three of the four Dragon Kings, excluding myself."

What the fuck was a 'body-savva'. "I only see four."

"Jizo Bosatsu currently acts as a saviour of souls in Hell. Don't take his absence personally."

Fair enough. "And there's four of you kings?"

"Yes. The two that spoke just now are Gokin and Gojun, Dragon Kings of the South and West Seas respectively." He looked up, gesturing the grey-skinned man. " _ _That__ is Gojin of the North Sea. Gokin and Gojun are a different story, but, your best bet is to appeal to Gojin."

He spoke so quietly, and the sage knew he wasn't gifted in the whispering department. He crouched next to Goko, tilting his head. "So what? He's your head honcho?"

"Not necessarily, but we all hold different positions in Heaven. Gojun and I manage the Heavenly West and East Armies. Gojin handles – loosely speaking – disputes between the Lower World and Heaven to avoid Gojun and I's involvement. You're of the Lower World, so don't screw up in front of him."

"Mmkay." Seiten Taisei nodded. "What about the sunburnt one?"

Goko sighed, shaking his head. "Gokin contributes disciplinary action over people who've committed crimes here. __Don't__ get his attention."

"One more question."

"Is this really the time?"

"How's the whole dragon thing work? I mean. You guys just look like glorified demons. So... what? Some god hooked up with an actual dragon and-"

" _ _Goko."__ A deep, aged voice cut the conversation short. The oldest of the four in the upper seats, with his crinkly eyes, fixated on the pair on the floor. "Why is he here?"

The Dragon King of the East stood up, nodding in his direction. "Fugen Bosatsu, he requested entrance to Heaven."

"And you complied?"

"With all due respect." Goko removed the bandage over his eye. "I think you'll find that I haven't the luxury of antagonising him."

The three Dragon Kings stirred, Gokin muttering to himself in contrast to the others two's disciplined silence.

"Not apprehending him was the safest choice at the time," Gojun admitted.

Gokin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, now look where it's got us. Feed a stray once and it starts expecting a bed in your house."

Two whistles from the upper half interrupted them. The two women, one with thick, wavy black hair, the other with long brown hair, laughed to one another, smiling at the Heretic with great interest.

The short-haired one said, "I say we let him in."

"I disagree, Kanzeon, but this is one of our more energetic meetings." She pulled a kuseri out. "Although I ultimately admit that I'm... on Gojun and Gokin's side for once."

"Glad I never have to say that."

They spoke like sisters, from Seiten Taisei could tell. Or, at least, their banter reminded him of siblings he'd run into on Earth. They disagreed with each other strongly and soon their debate turned into a quiet argument.

"Letting an animal like that into Heaven will only end poorly."

"Noting can be worse than how uneventful it's been up here. He's a breath of fresh air, yanno."

"Until he wants to add a new weapon to his personnel."

The youngest of the... whatever Goko called them, held his hand up, signalling the other two to silence themselves. His round, bright eyes focused on Seiten Taisei, indicating neither fear nor acceptance. Simply the eyes of a man who knew what he was talking about. He stroked his lion's mane, his glowing sword kept at a distance from his hand.

He introduced himself as Monju Bosatsu before speaking. "The Heretic, Seiten Taisei, is a powerful being. We must handle this with great care. Separating our thoughts will only alienate the best decision." His voice held a weight that kept the hall silent, even prompting the Great Sage's full attention. "Kanzeon Bosatsu, Seishi Bosatsu, how would you two handle a beggar?"

Kanzeon rose an eyebrow. "Just give him the money. It gets him off your back."

Snorting, Seishi twirled her kuseri. "Most beggars spend their money on gambling and alcohol. It isn't worth my time."

"You are both right. Yet also wrong." Fugen spoke up, "giving the man money is compassionate, yes, but foolish. Conversely, refusing the man anything is wise, but cruel."

"Then what's the solution?" Kanzeon leaned back in her seat, scowling. "I dunno how this relates to letting this guy in."

Monju answered her with closed, peaceful eyes. "Every step of the way, you must take matters into your own hands. Be wise and compassionate. Offer both money and food. Do not let the man have control of your compassion nor wisdom."

Kanzeon crossed her arms, tilting her head, ultimately unimpressed. Beside her, Seishi smiled, giving the slightest nod of agreement in Monju's statement. Across from her, Fugen muttered to himself, resembling rapid chanting. For a moment, his chanting filled the hall, and the sage covered his ears, grimacing at even the smallest uttering of holy prayer, until finally Fugen lowered his hands, slowly opening his eyes.

"We cannot ignore the Great Sage's nature."

"Nor can we control it."

"Not necessarily." Finally, Gojin spoke up, bowing his head in Monju and Fugen's direction. "We can find some sort of balance for both issues. If the Bodhisattva will allow, I'd prefer I and my brothers take care of how the Heretic is handled. One of our own brought him in. It's only fair we handle him."

Although the sisters said nothing, Fugen and Monju signaled their agreement. "You may proceed," both said.

"Gokin." Staring expectantly at Gokin, Gojin made some sort of hand sign. "One of __those__ would be useful."

Although hesitant, Gokin kicked back in his seat, boots on the counter. "I don't like this one bit. You better know what you're doin'.'

Stroking his lion, Monju listened intently. "What is it you've in mind?"

The North and South Kings exchanged looks with each other. Grunting, Gokin drew one of the many fighting knives strapped to his waist, revealing a pure gold dagger. Below, Seiten Taisei tensed, but Goko kept a hand on his shoulder.

Gokin tossed the dagger onto the counter, sliding it over to Gojin. The North Dragon King tapped the dagger with one finger, and the dagger glew bright gold, before shining pure white, its form seemingly transforming. The glow dimmed back to gold, and a thin crown solidified in the dagger's place.

He threw it to Goko, he observed its simple design and heavy weight. "This is... a Limiter?"

"Hardly, I can't make something strong enough for a Heretic. It's more of a 'regulator'."

The Great Sage scowled, pointing at the diadem. "You expect me to wear that?"

"If you don't want to be side-eyed more than you already are. You have my word, neither I nor my brothers will raise our hand against you for as long as you wear the diadem."

Goko nodded, and the two brothers looked to the remaining two.

Gojun kept silent, speaking only when the sage's low, aggravated growl echoed in the room.

"I can't agree with those terms. Not in good conscience."

"Yeah," Gokin called, "Gojun's right. I ain't buyin' this whole thing. He bares his claws against anyone in Heaven, it's on our ass. No thanks."

The sage snatched the diadem from Goko, glaring at Gojin with steely eyes. He put it on, struggling to tug hair out of its grasp for more comfort. Then he started to pull at the diadem itself. No matter how hard he pulled, not even the Great Sage could stretch it out. Instead, it glew white-hot, tightening around him. His keen ears heard the sizzle of hair and skin underneath the diadem, fading away only after the diadem slowly loosened to a snug, perfect fit.

"Ha! Serves the little shit right." Gokin flipped the dagger's sheath around in his hand. "Those daggers work to sedate n' subdue any creature that stirs shit in the Lower World. You ain't any different. Turning it into somethin' that keeps you behaved isn't shit to me or Gojin. Tug all ya want, ya can't get it off now."

The Sage gritted his teeth, flexing his claws and summoning his prized staff.

One foot forward, and a chain yanked the staff behind him, loosening up only to wrap around his ankle. The chain tightened, pulling him to the floor. A separate blade gleamed in front of his face. Craning his head, Gokin and Gojun towered over him.

Gokin waved the blade of his weapon around, the weighted chain tugging at Seiten Taisei's ankle with each movement.

"Like it? Accordin' to Goko, this here's a 'chigiriki'. I dunno 'bout all the ins and outs, but I do know I'm good at usin' it." His heavy boot pressed onto the side of Seiten Taisei's face, pushing him into the cold floor. "Y'know what your problem is? You've never been in pain before. Not actual pain, anyway. So what happens when you're actually hurt?"

The chain stiffened, and the sage's ankle lifted into the air, the rest of his body following in rapid motion. He cut through the air, finally released by the chain and crashing into the wall behind Gokin. With an unceremonious landing onto the floor, the Great Sage Equaling froze solid. Blood rushed up his throat like bile, and the staff disappeared.

Heavy footsteps barely caught his attention, and Gokin crouched in front of him, yanking his head up by the hair. "You freeze n' sit there at the worst possible moment. Right now, you're lookin' like roadkill." Just by his mere presence, the diadem glew white-hot once more, digging into the sage's skull.

"That's enough." Behind Gokin, Gojun sheathed his weapon, his face calm. He never made a move towards the sage, instead keeping his distance. "That diadem is a ' _ _regulator__ ', not a torture device." Walking back to his seat, he stopped short of Goko, casting a cold glance his way. "I won't accept accommodating a Heretic in Heaven so close to everyone else, but at the very least, I'll respect how the Bodhisattva and Gojin choose to handle him.

Goko gave a solemn nod. "That's fair."

The Dragons returned to their seats, with Gojin and Goko never having moved to begin with. The scrutiny Gokin's rash behaviour gave all of them reflected off their scales like water off a duck. Even with the clear-cut division between how the dragons wanted the Heretic to be dealt with, they stood in solidarity of the Five Bodhisattva decision, whatever it may be.

"A show without dinner, kind of a let-down." Breaking the dragons' spectacle, Kanzeon leaned back in her seat, waving papers around. "Hard to get a 'report' done when we're not solving anything."

Fugen crossed his arms. "I took you for asleep, Kanzeon. To be recording this event is... surprisingly diligent of you."

A smirk graced the Merciful Goddess' lips. "I've been known to shock people." Her violet eyes gleamed, and in one fell swoop, she tossed the documents into the air. Scattered, they fell, revealing papers doodled and scribbled all over.

"Not let's gimme something worth penning down. I'm so damned __bored__."


	6. Pile

__Stars dabble the sky and lake__

 _ _Encasing the night in a silver hue__

 _ _A mirror ripples between the two worlds__

 _ _One and all fall deeply into light__

 _ _Set your dreamful heart free__

Heaven had nothing to admire.

People lived day by day, in unending spring days and nights, all in the comforts of their jobs and slumber. Compared to Earth, Heaven was filled with unremarkable, bland people.

Blandness aside, the other downside of Heaven was the damn 'regulator'. Try as he might, digging his claws into hair and skin, Seiten Taisei could never remove the diadem. Only feel it tighten and heat up on his forehead and shoot unbearable pain throughout his entire skull. He still had the appearance of a demon. Still had his incredible strength. The regulator's only functions involved preventing him from accessing Earth's healing properties and 'lessening his presence' in Heaven for 'the sake of others'. Funny, no matter how much blood covered him or how fierce his temper, humans never needed his presence lessened for their sakes. No, he reckoned that his very presence was what drew others __to__ him.

Sparse as the sage's close interaction with humans was, he encountered a few people here and there that approached him like a normal human being. Not just the village girl or elders and children that left him offerings, but curious travellers that heard of his influence.

One such traveler, in tattered rags and a pitch black pipa in his possession chose to stay within the sage's territory prior to his entry to Heaven. Although, the pipa looked ore for show. Bandages covered his right hand, and he spoke with great tension and stiffness in his whole right arm. Once the traveler noticed the sage's staring, he laughed, saying that with the length of his claws, the sage would not have much more luck than he at playing the lovely instrument.

Offended, Seiten Taisei snatched the pipa from him, demanding to learn how to play. Many broken strings and makeshift repairs later, he found a fondness for the pipa's music. And now, in Heaven, he kept the pipa in his possession, truly his only source of regular entertainment, filling the easternmost land with its fine tune whilst sitting on the branch of a cherry blossom tree.

The pipa's tune, the clothes on his back, and the familiar scent of cherry blossoms kept him tied to the land that birthed to him, even in Heaven's listless space.

 _ _Actually__ , the cherry tree offered one more source of respite: masking the pungent scent of horses in the nearby stalls. He was always near those stalls, never too far from them, his eyes and ears keen on the horses' winnies and neighs. Protector of the Palace Stables – that became his role within Heaven, a position just for him, and not a hard role to fulfill at all. Always surrounded by chestnut, rabicano, buckskin, and then some, he did become fond of the creatures. They were calm ones, and quickly grew accustomed to his presence.

Of course, as far as picking up after them went, he went out of his ay to track down the nearest person to make them do it for him. His eyes terrified majority of Heaven, and he wasted no time in using that to his advantage. Waste pick-up aside, the job was simple, underwhelming, but without the burden of any real responsibility cast upon his shoulders, like for the Dragon Kings. All four of those guys had some sorta bigwig job in Heaven, from leading armies to disciplinary management, and even someone that acted as something of a mediator between Heaven and Earth. The latter left on a task soon after Seiten Taisei entered Heaven, much to his disappointment. Along with Goko (kind of), Gojin had been one of the few advocating his entrance, so he'd looked forward to seeing more of the North Dragon King, but now he was stuck with Goko and the other two yahoos that __protested and attacked him__.

A zephyr blew upward, raising tufts of his hair and making leaves weave into each other. He closed his eyes, taking in the sound of leaves weaving into each other and their scent filling up his nose. His claws still stroked the pipa's strings, letting tiny notes play. The wind died down as soon as it came, and he caught whiff of a fruity scent, different from peaches, sharp and artifical.

He leaned over the branch, seeing the top of a brown-haired woman's head standing beneath the tree. He narrowed his eyes, recognising the finely woven silk scarf hanging around her neck.

Admiring a cherry blossom, Seishi Bosatsu glanced up at Seiten Taisei with her violet eyes. "That's 'Flowers on a Moonlit River', is it not?"

Seiten Taisei nodded,.

"It's odd, you always play that one song, but I never hear you move on to its finale."

Seiten Taisei stared at his claws, just barely stroking the four strings taut across the pipa's neck. Slower tempos were easier, and replacing strings was a pain. Of _ _course__ he never went as fast as the song's climax. He absently plucked at them, letting notes hang in the air to dissolve into silence, sometimes paired with the horses' neighing. And he preferred if it wasn't interrupted by someone.

"Why are you here?" He pressed the pipa's neck to his cheek, sizing the goddess up. "You're one of the ones that __didn't__ want me here."

"But you're here now. And I'm not one to dwell on the past." She shrugged, and stood in a way that made it seem like the world gravitated to her. The upwind curled her heavy perfume up into Seiten Taisei's nose, along with the faint scent of milk.

"You have a child?"

"That's what they keep telling me."

She didn't have a 'mother's tone'. On Earth, mothers loved and doted on their children. Human, demon, beast – it didn't matter, Seiten Taisei saw a protective spark in all those mothers' eyes. Even the Earth itself warmed its child's skin after its wintry slumber came to an end. __This__ woman had no warmth. She spoke as if discussing the weather. Resisting the urge to recoil, the sage allowed the conversation to end there. Were __all__ gods and goddesses like this?

Silence returned, plagued by Seishin's stagnant presence beneath Seiten Taisei's favourite tree. He did his best to ignore her and her heavy scent crawling down his throat. His leg bounced up and down, hindering his music-making, and he had half a mind to crack it down on the Seishi's head to get rid of her, but that'd be a waste of a perfectly good instrument.

Still air and nothing to do aside from bond with horses, Heaven was looking more and more like a letdown. And his feet itched in a way that dragged them downward, back to Earth. He made enough a fuss to get into Heaven, and a desire to go back to his home was the last thing he could afford out of sheer pride. Still, he naturally wondered how that village of his was fairing.

He smiled. Calling it 'his' village became somewhat a habit he never dropped. He wasn't wrong, it'd been his village for the longest time without his even knowing it. His interaction with them increased in frequency, and now he had the greatest desire to travel down and boast of his achievements, like the return of a humble kingdom's great king.

Thinking aloud, he muttered, "I'll see them soon."

A chuckle below him. "No one's told you, have you?"

He quirked an eyebrow. He was sure he hadn't mentioned any context to his mutterings. "Told me __what?"__

"About the Lower World."

"What __about it?"__

A flower petal fell from Seishi's grasp, swaying to the ground and usurping Seiten Taisei's attention. The second it met the ground, a foot stomped down on it.

An ashen man in plain robes knelt at Seishi's feet, covered in a cold sweat.

"I beg your pardon, Your Highness!"

Seishi cast the flower aside, and lofty smile fell. "What's this all about? I thought I told you lot __not__ to bother me outside my office."

The servant gulped, eyes fixated on dirt . "A thousand pardons, Your Highness, but the Dragon King of the North Sea, Gojin, has returned from his consultation with the demon of Chaand."

"He's still wasting his time with that one?"

Taken aback, the man's shoulders slumped. "Your... Your Highness, he's returned injured. This is unheard of! Surely you're more concerned?" He shifted his body, and sure enough, a great disturbance stirred Heaven's stagnant air.

People horded behind the man, and Seiten Taisei could barely see Gojin's figure towering over the rest of them. Eager to escape Seishi's company, curisoity overcame the sage, and he leapt from the tree, abandoning the pipa. He landed in the front of the crowd, not budging from angered strangers' attempts to shove him out the way.

Supported by Gojun, Gojin bled from his side, staining his pale grey robes. His scales nearly matched Gojun's complexion, and he fought off a pained expression. Subordinates flanked him, demanding to know what happened to him, and soon his two other brothers rushed to his side. Moving forward, he staggered, and a burst of blood splattered to the ground. Soon all brothers stood side by side.

Gokin shoved his way through the subordinates, taking hold of Gojin's other side, whilst Goko demanded a medic as soon as possible.

Gokin's face contorted with fury. "What the hell happened?"

Raising his head, Gojin wiped sweat away from his brow. "Don't... act rashly."

Scoffing, Gokin clenched his fist. "What's __that__ supposed to mean?"

Rivulets of sweat dripped off Gojin's forehead. "I'll explain later." As level as during the meeting, Gojin's voice had no tinge of pain in it. Feet planted on the ground, Gojin slid his arm from Gojun's support. He gritted his teeth, shortly focused on the blood covering his boots. He waved his hand, dismissing his men and muttering something to Goko. The two stared at one another in silence, but with heavy footsteps, Goko seemed to relent to whatever Goko said, ordering the Eastern Army's units to disperse with a booming voice, not so much as glancing in Seiten Taisei's direction.

Left unsupported, Gojin made his way to what could only be his office of sorts. To others, his fierce independence must have seemed admirable, maybe even impressive, but Seiten Taisei saw an injured creature licking his wounds and limping to the nearest sanctuary to rest.

Rather than humour the sight, Seiten Taisei casually went to his side, forcefully slinging Gojin's arm around his shoulder without warning.

The blood covering his side made him reek like the inside of an old roleau, and Seiten Taisei tasted the aroma on his tongue, almost like he bit directly into the Dragon King's limbs himself.

"What are you doing?"

Seiten Taisei shook off the odour. "Helping." Hepuffed out his chest, pleased with his do-gooding. The glare Gokin cast him left him unfazed, and his smile widened __solely__ to spite Gokin.

Gokin growled, but Gojin put a hand up, preventing Gokin from getting closer. "Leave him." "My office is this way, we go there."

"You don't wanna go to a medical room or something?"

"With all this fuss, they'll send someone regardless of where I go."

Shrugging, the sage agreed. "Suit yourself."

The walk to Gojin's office did not take long, and soon they entered the room through large wooden doors with ornate carvings. Gojin made his way to sit, and indicated no disdain to Seiten Taisei's presence in his own quarters.

Seiten Taisei sat criss-crossed on a plain wooden chair, cushioned only by stiff red fabric. shifting around in hopes of getting comfortable. Gojin sat in a much more luxurious, dark desk, with a chair wider than his body. Blood dripped onto reflective. bluish-white tile, paired with the sound of the fluid scrawling of a pen and gentle breeze swaying thin white curtains.

"Shouldn't you get wrapped up?" And get comfier furniture for guests.

Setting papers aside, Gojin pulled more from a stack to the left of him. "Someone __will__ eventually come. Further, I dislike standing idly. In light of today's events, I have work to do." His grip tightened around the pen, and he hunched over with a drop of sweat curving down his cheek. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, and soon relaxed his posture.

Bouncing his leg up and down, the sage didn't press him any further. If he didn't want to lick his wounds and just continue on with his day, so be it. Behind him, he heard people dodder right outside the office, all spent and weary from shock over Gojin's condition. They spoke in hushed tones, but Seiten Taisei could concentrate on their voices just enough to make out the juicy bits.

"Why haven't those four taken care of that menace in the Lower World yet?"

"The East and West Armies could have taken care of him by now."

"Maybe so, but if he's capable of harming King Gojin, then they must be trying to find a way to avoid any further casualties."

"I've heard he's the same demon who took down the late War God. They should hurry and replace him."

"Isn't that why __he__ was brought in?"

Their voices jumbled and interrupted each other more and more, now indiscernable.

 _ _Who's 'he'?__

Someone burst into the room, fussing over a nonchalant Gojin. He was oblivious to Seiten Taisei's presence, allowing the sage to observe in silence. The whole procedure seemed informal, nothing like he expected of the disciplined black-scaled Dragon King. Soon following the man's entrance was Gojun. The Dragon King Seiten Taisei vividly recognised as one of the ones who opposed him.

Much to his surprise, Gojun paid him no mind. He stood, straight up as ever, watching Gojin accept medical care without so much of a word. His hand stayed curled around his sword's scabbard.

"I heard from Goko. Why have you issued an order to prohibit the Western and Eastern Armies from their duty against Chaand's demon?"

Eyes closed, Gojin put the pen down. "I won't do something that risky to your or Goko's men." He looked up, his forest green eyes blazing. "I won't have their lives on my shoulders. That creature is too unpredictable."

"We can't allow this to go on."

Ignoring the grave atmosphere, Seiten Taisei waved his hand. "So what's the big deal? A demon got ya, right?"

Both Dragon Kings glanced at him, ignoring his question. Gojun quickly focused back on Gojin. "It was meant to be a __meeting__. Chaand's demon tends to be more amicable, but he's acting up more and more lately." With an edge to his tone, Gojun didn't explain things patiently. It was more like he explained things in a way to communicate that it should be common knowledge.

"If I consult action with anyone, it'll be our superiors. We can't just do what we want in the Lower World."

Undeterred, Gojun pressed on. "What's __really__ the reason you're refusing?"

Silence swept over the room.

Gojin stood up, crossing over to the window. The movement revealed that he already bled through the bandages. "I don't want word spreading through Heaven, then everyone will be in a frenzy."

Oh, things were getting interesting.

A spectator to all, Seiten Taisen leaned back in the chair, tiling its front legs in the air just a tad. On one hand, they spoke too formally for him to stay invested. On the other hand, he wanted to hear about what other sort of demon could do a number on a Dragon King, or if the brothers' reputations were just all talk. Like a preoccupied cat, he watched with unblinking eyes, his ears perked to the slightest sound.

"The demon of Chaand is no ordinary creature." He cradled his injury, supporting his weight on the window sill. "I'm worried sealing would work. That's why I want neither army near him."

Gojun stiffened. "You're implying that it'd be..."

"Best to kill him."

The air went frigid, but Seiten Taisei didn't see the big deal. Kill the demon that was pestering you? That injured you? That should be a no-brainer. For how high and mighty humans treated them, gods really didn't have the stomach for dirty work. The brothers' conversation met a stalemate, both adamantly and silently refusing to finish up their thoughts.

 _ _Things got awkward...__

The chair he rocked back and forth in creaked incessantly, and, slowly, the pair focused on their visitor.

Defeated, Gojin sighed. " _ _Why__ are you still here? I appreciate your assistance, but it's not me you should be hovering."

"I don't 'hover' anyone. Something interesting happened here, and you made Goko go do something, right?"

Faltering, Gojin dragged his palm over his face. "I question the Lower World's reverance towards you."

The second he mentioned Earth, Seiten Taisei perked up, remembering Seishi's haughty words. "Hey, between here and Earth, what's the big difference?"

"What do you mean? There's plenty of-"

"What would make it hard to visit it whenever I want. I can't just ditch my village. I wanna visit it every now and then. That Goddess of Wisdom laughed at me the second she caught on. So what's the deal? What's everyone too incompetent to tell me about?"

Gojun's face hardened, and he exchanged a strange look with Gojin. Soon, some unspoken agreement cleared the frigid air. Gojun opened a drawer in Gojin's desk, placing a red-rimmed mirror on his desk. Waving his hand over it, the mirror presented a familiar image.

Leaning over to get a better view, Seiten Taisei's eyes gleamed. "That's Earth."

Gojun nodded. "Gojin's mirror goes beyond dimensions, it's more a __window__ than anything else. What you're seeing now is your village as it is."

A warm light of pride sparked in Seiten Taisei's chest, but the more he absorbed each detail, the more the light smoldered.

Its core signs and shops were the same, but some shacks and buildings looked older, with scratches and cracks in their wood, and other buildings he didn't recognise stood where the old temple used to be. He saw villagers he barely recognised, and some villagers completely missing. Leaves crackled from trees like sparks off a bonfire.

He was sure he left during __spring__.

Feeling a heavy stone settle in the pit of his stomach, his claws dug into the desk's fine wood. This was wrong. Very wrong.

Sensing his distress, Gojun retracted the mirror. "The Lower World's time flows like __water__ compared to here. What's been only a few days to you could end up being several months to them."

Why - why did no one tell him?

From the window, Gojjn responded coldly, "You never asked."

The two brothers looked on at Seiten Taisei, their eyes void of sympathy. Indeed, just a few moments in Heaven could end as weeks in Earth. A month or so… A year, at least? How many the older villagers would die at that point? How would those people change compared to __him?__

"If you still want to see them, then go on. But time flows like water in the Lower World."

Gojjn nodded. "And you're not exactly busy. Taking care of the stable horses is far from challenging.

He ignored the half-hearted encouragement. Golden eyes dilated. " Why do you say that _ _?"__

"Because stable watching is no higher than most tasks of the Lower World."

Claws dug deeper into the desk, puncturing splinters into his flesh. He was being strung along. Taken for a fool. Everyone here knew damn well that something as low as stables were beneath the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. After all that goddamn fuss over him, they couldn't even take him seriously. He was no prized denizen, and every side glance nutured violent thoughts in his head, but now, they were asking for it, trying to undermine __him__.

The desk gave way under his anger, wood crumbling into a hole where his claws pierced it.

Gojin held his hand up. "Before taking your anger out on my property, consider consulting someone regarding your dissatisfaction."

" _ _Like who?"__

"You mentioned it was the Goddess of Wisdom who brought up the Lower World to you. Her position is enough to convince someone to hear you out."

"Well where the hell is she?"

"Try her palace. A red palace shouldn't be hard for you to find."

His snide remark rolled off the sage like water off a duck. He didn't have time to dignify a response. He __would__ find that arrogant god. The one who so smugly laughed off his loyalties in favour of vague mocking.

Just as Gojin predicted, the palace was simple to find.

The temple he found was less grand than the Jade Emperor's Palace, but held a wonderful atmosphere. Ethereal, the colours of it crystalising into the sky, distant from Heaven's stuffy air. Erected atop multiple steps, the temple loomed over much.

Seiten Taisei used his staff to skip past the steps, propped up, he looked down, taking in its landscape. Neatly trimmed gardens and simple decour seamlessly complementing each other.

By far, it's lotus garden tied everything into perfect harmony. Certainly the best place to land.

He dipped his hand in the lotus pond's cool, smooth water. He waited for a lotus flower to float into the palm of his hand. Lifting his hand, water slipped out of his hand with a pleasing plop back info the pond.

He'd only seen illustrations on pottery of lotus blossoms jn the Lower World, ABD now, holding one that perfectly fit in his hand, he didn't see anything special. It smelled nice, and it's petals felt nice too, but nothing __incredible__. He enjoyed the water itself more. Cool, refreshing. It reminded him of the lakes and rivers he bathed in on Earth.

Without a second thought, he dipped his head into the water. The best part of water should be the feeling of it swarming around your head, but the regulator he wore blocked him from enjoying himself to the fullest.

"How did you get in here?"

Despite having his head submerged in the pond, Seiten Taisei heard the voice. He shot up, his wet hair dripping onto his clothes.

An aged voice called out to him, more suspicious than outwardly fearful or angry. Seiten Taisei saw a man that looked neither young nor old. Barely balanced on the fence between extremes. His forehead owned a marking different from majority of Heaven, more intricate and distinct, even compared to Heaven's apparent bigwigs.

Dropping the flower back into the pond, Seiten Taisei smiled. "I'm here to see the Goddess of Wisdom."

The man crossed his arms. "Why?"

"There's something __we__ gotta talk about. Don't worry your pretty little greying head over it."

Jaw agape, the man quickly turned to anger. "How dare you-"

A chuckle behind him cut him off, and one could hear the sound of bare feet on the floor.

"He's funnier than I expected, he can stay, Jiroshin."

A tall figure with hair black as midnight settled in the chair with the strength of a King and grace of a queen.

"Kanzeon Bosatsu, are you sure about this? As much as I trust your judgement, this sage is rather..."

Kanzeon dismissively waved her hand. "It's fine, it's fine. He made things liven up. So it's all good."

Liven up? If Seiten Taisei recalled, this one was also against his presence. Right along with Seishi. Were these two just fickle-minded? They definitely seemed so. One minute agianst his arrival, that next acting like he was a good friend. Although, Kanzeon didn't seem nearly as 'distant', so to speak. Her words weren't warm, but not cold or even lukewarm either. They were just... natural. She spoke naturally, under no pretense. She lived as naturally as the lotus blossoms floated.

"So how do ya like it up in here in Heaven?"

"You guys live plainly."

Another laugh. "Right? I couldn't stand that damn 'meeting' when you got here so I just went with the first answer I thought of. I wanted it to be as short. As. Possible." She pointed to the floor, and Seiten Taisei just now noticed the scribbled paper sprawled around her chair. The same ones from the meeting.

Standing beside her, Jiroshin's face paled. "I had to clean those from the chamber because of you, Your Highness."

Kanzeon nodded. "All in a day's work."

The Merciful Goddess spoke to her attendant with certain fondness, nothing like Seishi's impatience with the man that approached her regarding Gojin. If that was the case...

"That woman's child, does it have a name?"

"Huh?"

"Seishi has one, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Kanzeon shifted in her seat, resting her chin in the palm of the her other hand. "The lil' runt. I almost forgot."

"Your own nephew?"

"Aw, don't put it like that. I hardly talk to Seishi, let alone go to eastern parts of the palace. And why would you bring that up?"

Seiten Taisei finally rose from where he crouched near the pond. "I was wondering how different you are from her."

With a roll of her eyes, Kanzeon slouched. "I could write a novel and then a supplementary guide."

Jiroshin cleared his throat. He cast a glance at her that expressed doubt in her dedication to writing something as long as a novel. A glance that Kanzeon made a point of ignoring.

"So, what __really__ brings you here?"

"Is she around? Seishi."

Kanzeon frowned. Her violet eyes went from amused to indifferent at the drop of a hat. "Why would she be?"

"Gojin told me this was her palace."

"Hmph, hardly." She flicked strands of hair off her shoulder. "She barely comes here. It's might as well be __my__ palace."

Figured.

Leaning on his staff, Seiten Taisei yawned. He wasn't tired, but this place's drowsy atmosphere didn't fail to affect him. It was like boredom oozed through its walls and flooded the floors.

Kanzeon yawned. "So you're finally done playing stable boy, huh? I gotta say, it was rather __pathetic__ watching a hot shot like you doting on horses all day. You must be __drowning__ in your own energy since you can't spend any of it." Shooting a keen smile, she crossed her legs. "So you wanted to request – demand, that my lovely sister be your own little accolade in upping your status up here, right?"

The second she asked, Seiten Taisei knew that wasn't it. Being underestimated and having the wool pulled over his eyes pissed him off, no doubt, but that wasn't what bothered him.

More than anything, it was the sense of lost time. And for seemingly nothing. An improved position would at least give him a worthwhile excuse. When he did visit his village, he wanted to boast about having a grand position. Not because he fed horses.

"Well, unfortunately for you, she ain't here." Kanzeon stretched, her robes leaving nothing to the imagination. "She probably disappeared to her little 'sanctuary' in the Eastern Sea."

The crystal clear waters appeared vividly in Seiten Taisei's mind. "Where Goko lives?"

"That's right. You know that pagoda there? That's Seishi's. She always goes there to avoid being hassled by others, especially when people get upset over little things, just like today."

If those two shared the territory, they must've been close.

"Hardly. Seishi had a little fling with some man in the Eastern Army for a bit, and that pagoda became very convenient for her needs. Granted she dropped him like a bad habit once the brat came into picture."

"Whichever it is, if that's where she is, then I'll just go there."

Kanzeon waved a lazy hand. "Have fun."

Yeah, 'fun'. That was just the word for it.


	7. Chunks

_Yet throughout the storm,_

 _Hear the leopards and tigers tremble_

 _They too know of the Earth's power_

 _Gingerly they wade their way across dirt_

Seiten Taisei lucked out his first time reaching the Heavenly Eastern Sea. Where the sea was on Earth had its own 'division' in Heaven's version of it. This time, he depended on the endless length of his staff. He towered Heaven, surpassing the palace's grand height. The entire landscape a feast for the eyes, Seiten Taisei found the clear sea's 'mark'. Not the sea itself, but something close to a 'gateway' to it. Goko valued his privacy, having a dimension within a dimension dedicated to his own space.

Using the staff to propel himself over, the sage landed flawlessly, and the land beneath him fell into water. Buildings and trees disappeared, leaving the beaming sun and vast blue sky uninterrupted. His long hair swayed like seaweed in the clear waters, and the dragon from before slithered beneath his feet.

Seishi Bosatsu's pagoda stood on long beams in the sea, with koi swarming below the floor boards. A long red walkway led the way down to its centre, where the Goddess of Wisdom sat upon an elaborately designed and cushioned chair. Her eyes closed, she appeared to be asleep.

Seiten Taisei smacked his staff on the floor, unintentionally cracking it. "Hey, wake up."

"I'm awake." Seishi didn't bother opening her eyes, instead propping her head up with her hand. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Great Sage?"

Never one to beat around the bush, the sage answered her in a clear, strong voice. "I want a better position in Heaven."

She opened her eyes. "And what makes you think I'll do anything about that?"

"To be hoenst, I don't know. But you're the one who brought up the different between Earth and Heaven's time. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know how much of a waste being some stable hand is. When I visit my village, I want to boast about what I do."

"So this is all for your pride's sake," she noted.

He didn't see the point in wasting time pretending he was humble. No one in Heaven was humble. Just look at them, the second they see dust on their clothes they freeze on the spot and can't go on about their day without cleaning their entire wardrobe. Even the Dragon Kings had immense sense of pride. It was Goko's very pride that gave Seiten Taisei an opening into Heaven's ranks.

So, yes, this was all for his pride's sake. He saw nothing wrong with that. There _was_ nothing wrong with that. People were greedy. Trying to cultivate your conduct in a way depriving you of cardinal sense and nature was just its own sort of pride. One where you thought you could fool yourself into denying human nature. _Living_ nature. Animals fought for food and territory. Lions took no liking to rogues to their pride. Humans are territorial too. Being undermined drove people up a wall.

There was nothing wrong with having enough pride to defend your standards and principles. And Seiten Taisei's absolutely _did not_ stand for having a lowly stable hand job.

Listening to his tangent, Seishi laughed uncontrollably, holding a slender hand to her mouth to stifle her laughs.

"God, you're such a treasure." She pushed her bangs back. "Fine, fine. You know what? I'll see what I can do. There's plenty of things people don't wanna do in Heaven that they'd be more than happy to dump onto others. A bunch of officials who just bask in the feasts and luxuries of their titles. I'd love to see how they react to you of all things threatening that. Especially with this indolent lot."

This seemed rather... easy. Too easy. Seishi took this too easily, made up her mind too easily.

"Don't overthink I. I just wanna see what happens. To me, you're nothing but a novelty, so I wanna see how far you'll go before burning yourself out."

A capricious woman rampant with her own need for amusement. "Are you like this with everyone?"

She finally got her laughter under control, sitting nearly identical to how Kanzeon sat. "Let's put it this way. There is nothing in this world that I will ever tie myself to. Nothing, and no one. It's not because it's the easiest way to live or anything, I've just lived too long to feel attached to things. It's not my style."

"To the point where you don't bother worrying over a Heretic or naming your own son."

"Essentially. I'm just not concerned over the colour of your eyes, and, as far as the child goes..." She put a kiseru to her lips, gently blowing smoke.

"My own thoughts betrayed me." Seishi gave an odd smile. "I stared down at that little newborn, and all I could think was 'is that it?'" A chuckle. "I have lived too long to have an appreciation for the connections I make. The same goes for my sister."

The smoke from her kiseru rose up as a thin pillar, obsructing her face from the sage.

Finally, Seishi spoke up. "So, with that out of the way, what's all of _today's_ fuss over?"

The change of topic made no sense, but satisfied with her word over his position, Seiten Taisei didn't complain. "The demon Gojjn met isn't normal, apparently."

"Yes yes, _that_ , I could gather. The Dragon Kings didn't get their positions because of good looks, that's for sure." She put the kiseru to her lips again, maintaining graceful charm. "The infamous 'demon of Chaand' is out of our armies' leagues. Sealing him just won't do, right?"

Seiten Taisei nodded.

"Then they'll have to kill him. Or should, but God knows no one will volunteer. Not without a War God."

"War God?"

"The only one of heaven with explicit permission to _kill_. We've been without one for a few months or so because of Chaand's little friend, that's why no one wants to deal with and just dumps it all on Gojin's shoulders."

Ah, so that was why everyone was so ambivalent. Too scared to do dirty work so they had to give it to some specific person.

"What if _I_ wanted to be the War God?"

Dirty work or not, it sounded more eventful. Better to boast about defeating Heaven's foes than being stable boy.

An incredible thing happened. Seishi's eyes widened. "Now, I know I said I'd hook you up with something better than 'protector of horses', but, really now, War God is no better."

Defeating Heaven's enemies and sending them to their grave. Sounded better to him. If he kept getting peaceful jobs, he'd die from the never-ending banal lifestyle up here. Not gonna happen. Bloodshed, fighting, that put a rush into one's life.

"Well, I suppose we do typically give the position to Heretics, but I'm telling you, it's nothing fancy."

"Will it keep me busy?"

"Most certainly." Seishi slipped out of her chair, walking down the pagoda's pathway . She stopped a few feet ahead of Seiten Taisei. She _knew_ what he wanted.

He followed her.

Seishi Bosatsu never failed to drop a bomb.

" _Give him a promotion,"_ she said.

No one considered Monju Bosatsu an incredulous person. A spry, youthful appearance made him look no older than Seiten Taisei, lithe with handsome features. Yet Monju's bright eyes hid his composure.

Beside him, his lion stirred, tail slashing the air. It growled deep in its throat, keen to the immediate shift in mood with watchful, amber eyes. Its master's gentle hand, into which the lion nudged its head, ran through its mane. Powerful, controlled, well aware that the beast was no mere pet cat.

There was no beast that did know of Seiten Taisei's power. Leopards and tigers feared him, lions were no different. The moment Seiten Taisei stepped into the room, the lion went slack. On alert, but entirely against striking out or focusing on him. It knew that if it did anything to provoke Seiten Taisei, it'd just be delivering him a new set of clothing. Even the regulator couldn't bar the lion from his overwhelming power. Beasts were smart like that. More in tune with things than the people constantly lording over them.

"Seishi Bosatsu," Fugen rasped, "you're suggesting we allow _this being_ take up the title of War God?"

The previous War God shared blood with the Dragon Kings. Against all odds, he gathered a fair amount of respect, even with his blood-soaked hands. He'd been an anomaly to Heaven's War God history, his descendents succeeding in preceding his reputation. Regardless, he'd been a rare instance. The best way to disconnect Heaven from indoctrining their no-kill laws more often rested solely on the shoulders of Heretics. Beings existing on a polar opposite plane from Heaven.

But this 'sage' was no ordinary Heretic, even – no, especially by Heaven's standards. Inside his body he harboured the Earth's will and Heaven's power. He demonstrated his powers in the Lower World so often that humans and demos revered him as a _god._ The aptly named Great Sage Equaling Heaven with the most golden eyes anyone ever laid their eyes on.

Giving him any place in Heaven proved an unpopular move, and gave him just enough space to think he could push his luck. As they said, give them an inch and they'll expect a mile. The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Seiten Taisei, a War God? No one creature should harbour that influence. How could Seishi expect anyone to agree with her? And why did she decide to play accolade to the Heretic after voicing her _disapproval_ of him?

"Surely you've heard of Gojin's condition?" Seishi spoke in a cloyingly pitched voice. "We _need_ a War God, it's non-negotiable against powerful enemies that defy Heaven." She brandished a sunflower from thin air, gesturing to Seiten Taisei. "A Heretic. Powerful. Skilled. Clever. Experiened with bloodshed." The flower disappeared. "He's the perfect candidate."

Rings jangled. Adorned in loose, moss green robes, Jizo Bosatsu called for attention. His skin rich in colour from his usual post granting souls salvation, he spread a warm glow throughout the chamber. Ever patient, the Great Vower, Jizo Bosatsu. He was no naïve, idealistic fool, simply one who found the perfect balance between compromise and common sense.

His smooth voice swept the tension away. "I've met many a victim of the demon of Chaand, several of which being devoted monastics, man and woman; furthermore, some still accompanied by their young acolytes." The rings of his monk's staff swayed with his movements. "And the incident with the Dragon King of the North is greatly unfortunate. With great caution, I agree that a War God _of sorts_ is necessary."

Triumph filled Seishi's eyes. The Goddess of Wisdom, for all her merits, cared not for the situation's details. Only the satisfaction of being right. However, when she heard Jizo pound the monk staff into the floor a second time, any semblance of a smile disappeared into cold disinteret.

"To reiterate, I say that with great caution." Artificial light highlighted the rings. "I won't blindly advocate the Great Sage's 'promotion'."

"Jizo, why are you here?" No warmth, no coldness. Seishi offered complete disinterest. A woman bored to death by the monotony of a meeting. She shook her head, long brown strands of hair falling over her shoulder. "We all know you don't bother with mundane meetings."

The Great Vower never left his post in Hell without good reason. _He'd_ been the reason Heaven's Five met today, far before Seishi appeared in Seiten Taisei's favour.

"I regret to say..." Jizo cleared his throat, adjusting his position on the cushion he insisted to sitting on. "Not only has the demon of Chaand made his mark, but another creature wreaks havoc elsewhere in China."

Fugen furrowed his brow. "What such creature?"

"From what the deceased informed me, a bear-like demon that woke up from a deep, deep slumber just behind a hill near their village."

Seishi smiled. "How convenient."

A look that said she already knew of it. A look waiting for someone else to bring it up so she could use it to her advantage. The goddess' territories had crystal clear waters capable of seeing straight down to the Lower World. _Of course_ she knew.

Cautiously, Monju repeated himself, _"Why_ are you supporting Seiten Taisei?"

"Because he's here now." _Infuriatingly_ vague. She yawned, twisting strands of her long brown bangs. "In any case, why pester me about that when there's a demon that needs taken care of?"

Finally, Seiten Taisei stepped forward, brandishing his confident, fanged smile. "I could take care of him. He's no challenge to me."

"Enough of your mocking, Seiten Taisei." Monju left his post next to his lion. "We both know you hold no care for humans not under you authority."

"The same holds for all in Heaven." Seiten Taisei held his arm up, wrapped in tattered, earthly sleeves. "Take a look at me. Is Heaven so afraid of me they allow me to mar its pearly columns in these rags?"

That had no relevancy whatsoever. If it was new clothing the sage wanted, he could have just asked.

"No," Seiten Taisei protested, "make me the War God, and I'll take the demon down and make new clothing out of his very own hide."

Fugen clenched his fists. "Fancy taking this wretch as 'War God'."

Nodding, Jizo directly addressed the sage, not shying from his intense gold stare. "Are you aware of how demanding the position is?"

"Doesn't matter. I get to do things on a regular basis, and you get to keep me out of your hair. It's a win-win."

Absolutely.

Ludicrous.

Who in their right mind would ever consider such demands? Who in their right would make such demands? The War God was a deplorable, lowly position. It demonised all Heaven stood for, damned to breaking the greatest taboo by taking life. Anyone in that position sentenced themselves to fear and rejection.

Seiten Taisei slowly tilted his head, venom dripping from his breath. "A Heretic, you mean?" From his laugh was danger that crawled over everyone's skin. "Sit there and sneer at me, were I a beast, I am still powerful. That's how all Heretics are, right? We're powerful beings born opposite of your ideologies, and eyes as bright as the summer day's sun. What could be more terrifying than people sitting in the luxury of their positions than beings capable of defying them without breaking a sweat?"

Seishi's slender hand pulled Seiten Taisei back. "Excellent speech," she praised, "but you're going about it all wrong, you rabid chimp." She blew smoke in his face, towering over him. "Don't misinterpret, we owe you nothing here. What I am getting at is that we can make this a mutual relationship, instead of you sucking the life out of us." She placed her hands on her bare hips. "Leaving this creature with mundane duties like horse-sitting will just make his energy fester in all the wrong places. Heaven hates getting its hands dirty and needs a War God."

Nothing she said was wrong, but agreeing with her didn't feel right. She was leading everyone down to Hell with this idea.

"It's up to you," Seishi continued, "if you're that scared, might I suggest a safety net?"

'A safety net'.

What Seishi Bosatsu called a 'safety net', Goko called babysitting.

Appointing the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and the Eastern Army's first platoon on the same assignment could not qualify as anything less or more than babysitting. According to Seishi, it was meant to be an evaluation of sorts for Seiten Taisei.

But it was, without a doubt, babysitting. Like a child, Seiten Taisei bounded ahead of the platoon, admring the Dimension Gate's grandeur. It gleamed of jade, corundum, and gold, expertly crafted with a height towering over all who entered its platform. Its lofty energy charged the chamber with air disconnected from Heaven's. In its presence, a knowing light brightened Seiten Taisei's eyes, and it seemed the gate pulled him forward.

Goko left him be. Even with his strength, Seiten Taisei couldn't force the gate open, instead fumbling with the split of the doors. Instead sleek machinery, well beyond the Lower World's existing advances, required a pass card and code, entrusted to trusted authorities within Heaven.

The likelihood that Seiten Taisei would never receive that extension of trust meant a disheartening future for the East Dragon King.

He entrusted the unit to depart as soon as the Gate opened, assuring he'd follow close behind. To no one's surprise, Seiten Taisei leapt through, his eyes dialated in the Gate's gold light. His quick acting discouraged the unit, but they nonetheless followed suit in an orderly fashion, leaving doubt in the footsteps they left behind.

The lot emerged in the undercut of a waterfall, where the overhang's roaring rush plunged into the river up ahead. The demon of interest was not far. Outside, trees scarred by deep claw marks signaled the demon's territory.

Some look different from the rest, though... Some were nearly pin-straight and medium in length, others curved and as long as a person's arm. Seiten Taisei observed them as well, tracing his claws inside the marks. At first, his face seemed calm, introspective, even. But he soon smile, flexing his claws. In an instant, he marked the tree himself. No, actually, the tree toppled over, cleanly cut down by the Great Sage.

Goko's steered clear of Seiten Taisei, and he couldn't blame them. Tree after tree, Seiten Taisei downed anything with claw marks on it. But only the shorter claw marks. Panicked birds flew away, and the flap of their wings melded into the sound of leaves violently rustling and roots ripping away.

Scowling at the senseless act, Goko finally spoke up. "You're awfully liberal for cutting something the Earth offers down."

Seiten Taisei froze, lowering his claws. When he faced Goko, he still smiled. "If we cut up where he lives, he'll show up here and we don't gotta worry about protecting people in the village."

He was not wrong. No one could deny his understanding of the Lower World. In some ways, that gave him a great advantage. To the left of the unit was definitely a path leading to the village. It wouldn't take much for the demon to run straight there.

Yet, with his strength and cunning, Seiten Taisei would easily deter it. His smugness stemmed from the fact that he could show off his power to a whole army unit, and prove Heaven he was right and fit for War God. He'd make Heaven's most damning role appear impressive.

A roar shook the entire forest. Seiten Taisei jumped to the top of an unmarked tree, with the poise of a bird of prey, smile absent.

 _He seems to take it seriously, at least._

Goko drew his revolver, but ordered the rest to not follow suit just yet. Ultimately, this was Seiten Taisei's mission. The army unit only accompanied him to prevent casualties or treacheries he'd possibly pull. Stay alert, not eager, holding their breath for Seiten Taisei's first move.

A sphantom among them, Seiten Taisei disappeared from sight. Replacing him was the downward smash of his staff, impaling the ground and lifting a mass of black smoke. In the wispy clouds, a pair of glowing red eyes snapped open, and the forest's roaring continued. The smoke snaked into a solid, massive form of soot-coloured fur and bony spikes. To call it a 'bear' wasn't close at all, but the demon resembled one close enough. Smoke extended from its paws and eyes, and it seemed more like its physical form was a sham, unstable and bulbous. But the impact of its size and claw marks were very much solid.

It locked eyes with Goko, but turned back to the true offender.

" **What business do you have with me?"**

Perched atop his staff, Seiten Taisei stuck his tongue out. "Beating you, naturally."

The demon rumbled. **"You think you can defeat the Smoke Demon Tsuyoi?"**

Seiten Taisei waved him off. "Who you are doesn't matter. Don't you know who _I_ am?"

" **I have no reason to know what my food calls itself."**

The sage's gold eyes widened. "Food?" He chuckled, and it broke into bellowing laughter, with him holding his sides. _"Really?"_

Not acknowledging him, Tsuyoi dissolved into smoke once more, and the smell of burning wood filled the air. Vibrations shook the dirt beneath Goko and his unit. He braced himself for an attack, but Tsuyoi erupted beyond them, heading straight for the village. A shooting star,, Seiten Taisei followed in the blink of an eye, with Goko ordering the unit to follow him as promptly as possible.

He knew it impossible to keep up with Seiten Taisei, and much to everyone's chagrin, the distinctive sound of that demon crashing into wooden village shacks filled their senses, along with villagers' screams.

Goko never expected Seiten Taisei to go out of his way for humans not part of his own village, but disappointment nevertheless set in at his apparent carelessness.

A soldier well a way's ahead of the others reached the village's entrance first, stopping dead in his tracks. "Dragon King Goko, it's...!"

"What is it?"

"The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Seiten Taisei, he's keeping the building from collapsing!"

There was no need to go into detail of the disbelief that rose in the pits of the unit's stomachs, and Goko wasted no time to reach the opening. Just as his soldier exclaimed, Seiten Taisei supported a building with the staff, impatiently yelling at panicked villagers to get out from under it. In front of him Tsuroi's body hardened once again.

Seiten Taisei didn't struggle with the building's weight. His gritted teeth flashed at Goko with fire in his eyes. "Don't just gawk at me, move!"

Realisation hit Goko, and he ordered his unit to move villagers out of the way. There wasn't any salvaging the building, only its former patrons. As soon as the area had been vacated, Seiten Taisei let the building collapse. No longer burderned by human lives, his smile returned to the thrill of battle.

He rushed in front of Tsuroi, flawlessly blocking the swipe of a massive right paw. The opposite paw swiped for him, forcing him to elongate and slacken the staff into its three-sectioned form. His speed allowed him to avoid both paws, and he twisted around the right paw, the three sections roughly wrapped around it until Seiten Taisei heard a bone snap as easily as a twig. With a growl, Tsuroi struck down with his left paw, but Seiten Taisei thwacked it back. He didn't linger, instead leaping away, returning his staff to its primary form. He could still feel the paw's impact pressing into the staff.

"You're..." He smiled. "You're stronger than you look."

Tsuroi stomped backward. His weight shifted more on the right than the left, all of the muscles contracted and rigid.

" **Don't mock me."**

"I'm not," Seiten Taisei replied, "I'm complimenting you. I'm not allowed to?"

Limping, Tsuroi thrust his head up. **"You say that, but I can see the pity in your eyes. Don't look down on me!"**

His body turned to smoke, disappearing completely. Like clockwork, Seiten Taisei wisely jumped back, landing beside Goko, still sporting that wicked expression. The creature next to Goko could end this with one fatal strike of his hand, but chose to play with his staff.

Witnesses to the scene, Goko's unit kept still, careful not to interefere. Goko, on the other hand, looked around the village. Too many villagers froze in fear, all likely victims if Seiten Taisei toyed with Tsuyoi any longer. He moved backward, leaving Seiten Taisei in front of him.

"Seiten Taisei."

"Hmm?"

Goko closed his eyes, his fingers stroke the barrel of his revolver. "Do as please against Tsuroi, but when I give the signal, move out of the way."

Not looking back at him, Seiten Taisei nodded. "What's the signal?"

"You'll know when you hear it."

Goko lifted his free hand, a gesture all in his units recognised with great respect. They straightened their posture, and he felt all their expectant eyes focus on his back and heard the clicks of their personal revolvers.

He paid no attention to the vibrations underground nor the roaring of the forest. Admittedly, Goko waited for one thing, and one thing only.

Ahead of them, what Goko called Seiten Taisei's 'hunting stance' returned. Eyes and hears keen, muscles braced for impact. Finger on the trigger of his revolver, Goko held his breath, as did his unit. A moment like this, one's heart pounds instinctively, your brain and nerves hoping that you can resist the urge to shoot at the wrong knee-jerk moment. This sort of position required that you played with fire.

Then the golden moment happened. Seiten Taisei jumped upward, thrusting the staff deep into the ground, and smoked out the bear-like demon.

"Shoot now!"

Like shooting stars, a flurry of bullets cut through the air.

"What?!" Having not landed yet, Seiten Taisei stiffened at the barrage, and Goko saw what might be the _only_ instance of panic the beast ever expressed in his life. The staff and its owner grew into the sky above, quickly avoiding the bullets.

Tsuroi, on the hand, was no so fortunate. All tranquilisers dug deep into his solid body, and he wildly rolled to the ground in agony and anger. He dragged his body as close to the unit as he could, but another bullet from Goko stopped his movements.

Not giving the unit an opportunity to celebrate the success, Seiten Taisei landed right in Goko's face.

"What the _hell_ kinda signal was that?!" Although he'd resembled a young man in his early 20s, anger somehow made Seiten Taisei seem younger. " _Asshole!_ You can't just shout 'Now!' and have your groupies shoot when I'm in the middle of their fire!"

Taken aback by the beast filling the sight of his good eye, Goko blinked. He knew the beast for an impulsive one, but he didn't give off the impression of having a fierce temper. He always wore a smile and let things happen as they did.

"I thought you'd be flattered I knew you could avoid it."

"Who in their right mind would be flattered by a buncha goddamned bullets flying their way?"

"That's not what I meant, but I suppose your anger isn't unprecedented. I didn't want to alarm the demon prematurely, in my defence."

"Asshole."

"Killing him would've blown your change. You're not a War God yet. Killing is forbidden, and you have no means of sealing demons. Be thankful I acted."

That shut Seiten Taisei down quickly, and his body slacked as rigidly as possible. "None of those other gods mentioned that."

"Of course not." He left it at that, addressing his unit. "We're returning now!"

His unit followed his command to a T, and he followed behind, Seiten Taisei sulking beside him.

"I see you're still angry."

"You're an asshole."

"Hearing that from the creature-"

"I'm _not_ just some creature!"

Humour him. "...hearing that from the sage that took my eye out leaves me feeling indifferent."

If anything, speaking to Seiten Taisei killed time, and they reached the forest and its toppled trees in no time. He glanced at an unharmed tree, one of the many with the deeper, longer claw marks. Nothing like Tsuroi's, and the only marked trees Seiten Taisei never laid his claws on. The trees stood out even more with those two qualities.

 _Why had those been the only marked trees he ignored?_ He didn't like the feeling that tapped the back of his head. A warning against an unseen force. But asking Seiten Taisei the logic behind his actions felt futile.

 _That isn't why I'm not asking him._

Goko sighed, walking through the waterfall.

It just means they're not done here.

After Dragon King Goko filed a report as soon as he returned, Monju and Fugen, left to the company of each other in the chamber, exchanged plain looks.

"Although there was some intervention, it seems Seiten Taisei succeeded in his task."

"Indeed." Monju stroked his lion, feeling its soft mane. "And knowing Seishi Bosatsu..."

"...we won't hear the end of it until we finalise our decision."

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Seiten Taisei, the former 'Protector of Horses'.

A new War God for Heaven's troubles.


End file.
